Why The Caged Bird Sung
by AmberXAutopsy
Summary: Now alone in the world, Sansa clings to the only person left within her reach. Can their unforeseen friendship last as people start to notice and talk?


**May The Living Be Dead**

**'Tell me why no one listening, is there nothing at all left to say.**

**In a world so unforgiving, you mean more to me every day.**

**So may the living be dead, lost in our wake.'**

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The day Eddard Stark was killed the forests that splayed out behind Kings landing's castle came to life.

The pained howls of its canine residents carrying across the land as it permeated through the crowd and rose high into the suddenly still air.

Silence over took as the lords ebony blood pooled, stretching the length of the stones at his hunched, now headless figure, before sinking into the earth and leaving the executor and high borns present speechless as it vanished, not a trace in its wake.

Many Sandor had encountered over the years said they had seen such a phenomenon on multiple occasions. He, on the other hand, had only witnessed it once.

And had not a shred of desire to ever see such an event again.

No one had ever doubted that the Starks were a strong and...most rare family.

Some even thought them to be legends. Hidden away in the darkest depths of the northern wild lands, tucked away behind the great wall that crawled the length of their lands, stretching passed the clouds as if to touch the very sky itself.

Many myths existed, often told to children as they were tucked into sleep at night.

Stories of outlandish proportions consisting of giant wolves jumping from behind Winterfells gates and winning battles with a single snap of their massive jaws, sending their enemies running for the hills.

He could never really decide if he believed them or not, mostly brushing them off to the side as the folklore they most likely were...but, even he had to admit, there was something odd about the family.

Special almost.

It was evident in the way they moved. The way they fought. The blood of their ancestors, spilled upon the frozen northern grounds during the last winter and the wars spanned in between, seeming to glitter and take on a hellish hue before sinking into the soil. Sucked down thirstfully as it belonged there the whole time.

None of that seemed to matter at the moment though, at least not to him. Instead, his eyes rose from the corpse to the fiery headed maiden that stood upon the platform a few feet away, his stance shifting as she collapsed, her long auburn hair falling over her shoulder as her lips, looking as sweet as the plump ripened strawberries that bloomed among the flowers in spring, parted as a tortured scream ripped its way from her delicate throat.

The noise stopped his tracks, stilling his movements and forcing him to watch as her slim hands tore at her chest, lean fingers gripping the paper like fabric of her dress.

Many times he had seen unfortunate souls fall to the ground after witnessing the death of a loved one. Many times he had watched the lose well up in their widen eyes, pain scrunching their features.

But her's...her's was one he'd never seen before.

Agony.

He felt his heated blood chill as her eyes dulled, emptying of emotion as she stared ahead at the body slumped against the ground, her icy gaze melting away to match that upon her father's head laying at the bottom of the gold set stairs.

Blank and lifeless.

As if she, herself, had died along with him.

He watched in silence as her handmaidens rushed forward from the background, collecting her with unsure hands and begging with whispered words for her to stand and make her way back to her rooms.

But, it was as if she didn't hear, for instead of moving she stayed on her knees, crystal like tears trickling down her bloodless cheeks and seemingly unaware of the many hands grasping at her arms and body trying to help her to her feet.

Suddenly, having had enough, he found himself elbowing his way through the thick crowd that had gathered to stare at the once great lords dismembered body.

"Move out of the bloody way!" He heard himself roar, taking the short distance with long strides and coming to stand at the trembling girls side, leaning over to scoop her frail frame into his arms.

Her head lulled against his armor he moved across the platform, choosing to ignore the glare the King was giving him, his dagger like gaze piercing as it traced against the skin of his marred face as if to burn it all over again.

'Snake tongued little shit.' He couldn't help but think as he made his way down the drafty castle halls, turning to ascend the winding stairs. 'He will surely be damned for this.'

He swore before the gods that he would show mercy if lord Stark confessed to his 'crimes'.

If they could even be called such.

But, instead of keeping his word the little shit threw Eddard into a sunless cell and beheaded him for all Kings Landing to see, seeming to receive a sick thrill as his peasants traitorous chants grew louder, a self satisfied grin spread widely upon his slimy face as the age old blade connected with high born flesh.

His head lowered, his dark eyes dropping to the small girl he had cradled against his chest, his grip upon her light and concentrated, afraid a single slip of his wrist would cause her to shatter, falling like glass from his arms.

He let his attention wander across her skin, as white as the snow covered fields if the north, following the faint blue veins that wound her neck to her chest where her hands still clenched, knuckles paled and tight. The breaths she drew were even and deep.

'Almost as if she's sleeping.' He mused, but knowing the exact opposite to be true. Her eyes hooded and blank, staring ahead at nothing.

He kicked her chambers door open with a gentle tap before ducking through, bending to place her shivering form onto her bed and pull the thick furs up to pool around her chin.

He remembered the day Gregor killed their mother...how distraught and mad with sorrow he had been. Going days, even weeks, without hardly a bite to eat as he watched through narrowed eyes as the fury towards his older brother grew greater and greater until, one day, it swallowed him whole.

Consuming him and holding him in it's belly as he aged, festering around him like the blistering scars upon his face.

He heaved a sigh as he straightened, letting his hand fall to stroke across her milky cheek, the silky texture of her skin against his causing his stomach to clench and turn, uneasy.

She was alone now. Just as he`d been.

Only she was alone to weather Joffery and his treachery...No one to protect her and keep her safe.

He shook his head and pulled his hand away, letting it tighten into a fist at his side.

"Do not turn out like me, little bird." He heard himself say before turning and making his way out into the hall, closing the door softly behind him.

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His armor was cool again against her skin, the gentle sway of his steps lulling her into a false sense of sleep as her eyes drifted shut.

His touch was gentle as he leaned forward, setting her down into the feathery bed and pulling the heavy furs over her before his hand fell against her cheek, the roughness of his skin foreign as it trailed down to trace her jaw.

Amidst all the pain and sadness that assaulted her mind she couldn't help the small tingle that erupted deep within her belly, fluttering like a flurry of tiny butterflies as it spread slowly through her body.

Suddenly, as quickly as it came, his touch and the warmth it radiated into her body disappeared, replaced with his voice, steely as ever and as dark as the night that was soon to come.

"Do not turn out like me, little bird."

His whispered words enclosed her heart, squeezing it tight with the unseen emotion that raged behind his voice.

'He must think me asleep...' she mused, sure that if he had had any thought of her being awake he would have never let himself sound so...

Her eyebrows knit together as she searched her mind, feeling around with unsure fingers for the right word but coming up empty. His footsteps sounded then and she slit her lids open to watch as he turned, his dark figure blurred and shadowed as it receided.

She wanted to call out to him and ask him to stay.

Tell him she was afraid of where her thoughts would wander when he left and she was by herself.

That she was scared Joffery might crawl from the woodwork and slit her throat if by some chance sleep managed to find her.

But, instead, she remained silent, watching through her eyelashes as he disappeared behind her closing door, leaving her alone in the quiet sudden stillness of her bed chambers.

Silence.

For a moment she held her breath.

The sad, drawn out song of the cicadas and the distant voices and feminine giggles that wafted up through her window from the gardens were the only sounds that reached her ears as she lay, her gaze cast up as she traced the beams that lined the ceiling above her.

The world seemed different now...smaller somehow as she mulled over the reality that she would have to make way through her life without her father by her side.

She would have to marry the king...and have no one to protect her against his vicious will and venom tongue.

No one to stroke her hair and kiss her forehead when she was sad or whisper honey coated words into her ear when life grew to hard to bear...

"You always said that I would marry a man who would find beauty even in my flaws...that he would be strong and brave and noble...that he would spare no lengths for my happiness, even if it meant persuading the floors buried deep within the snow to bloom just to see me smile..."

But, that was not Joffery.

He was no galiant knight who would wisk her away upon his steed towards her happily ever after like her father had always promised.

She would be a Lannister within the fortnight and never again will she know a gentle touch or kind word.

Squeezing her eyes shut she turned onto her side as her eyes burned with tears she refused to shed.

"I am a lone wolf...in a den of lions..." she whispered to the air, setting her jaw in a poor attempt to gain whatever strength was left buried within her drained body. "I can not let them see my tears. I can not let them smell my fear..."

She could not let them see her break.

She was alone now.

With not a wolf in sight.


End file.
